Epilogue: Saturday, August 30

After 20 days and 435 miles of walking, several encounters with dogs, a number of days in the rain, a couple of wicked storms, many police checks, several close calls with inattentive drivers, and miles and miles of corn and soybeans, I finally completed my mission of Walk Illinois 2014. It was a very difficult but tremendously gratifying experience. I was absolutely blown away by the group of friends, relatives and neighbors who met me at the border in South Beloit. This walk was something that I have always wanted to do and during the last few days of my walk, I broke the $20,000 plateau in total pledges. I want to thank the hundreds of people who made pledges towards my cause and the hosts and coordinators along my route who so graciously welcomed me into their homes for the night and fed me after a long day of burning calories. My pledgers and my hosts were my inspiration when the road got long and my body got tired. I will contact everyone shortly with instructions  on how to make your donation. This has been the experience of a lifetime and hopefully in a small way, some lesser fortunate Vietnam Veterans will benefit from your donations and generosity.